Road rail stake pocket



Nov. 29, 1938. E. L. HARRINGTON ROAD RAIL STAKE POCKET Filed Sept. 30,1936 INVENTOR Patented Nov. 29, 1938 ROAD RAIL STAKE POCKET Edward L.Harrington, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Blaw-Knox Company, Pittsburgh,Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 30, 1936, SerialNo. 103,308

2 Claims.

Concrete pavements are usually laid by pouring between forms or roadrails.

These forms are usually L-shaped in section and are secured in positionon a previously prepared sub-grade by metal stakes or pins driven intothe sub-grade and secured to the rails in some manner.

It is desirable that the stake serve two functions,first, to preventlateral displacement of the rail at its base, and second, to preventtipping of the rail from the intended to retain, due either to pressureof concrete against it or to the weight and reactions of machines whichare supported by it. The usual manner of preventing both tipping of therail and lateral displacement is by keying the rail to the stake so thatit cannot tilt with respect to the stake. If the stake be verticalposition it is driven in a perfectly vertical direction at precisely thecorrect position it is sufiicient to key the rail against some fixedportions of the stake pocket. This has been common practice. The presentinvention relates to a modified stake pocket and rail constructionby'means of which it insured that the stake, during driving, ismaintained in proper position at the elevation of the rail base, thoughit may be deflected from vertical direction by encountering obstacles,but which nevertheless provides for rigidly securing the rail to thestake after the latter is driven, without any displacement or tip- Thispermits the rails to be alined accurately before the stakes are ping ofthe rail.

driven,

and this accurate alinement of the forms is maintained even though thestakes are not driven precisely perpendicular.

' tion is a departure, stake section have been used, with the troughcorrespending to the bottom of pockets of U-shaped the U in verticalposition. These were secured to the rail in such a manner that the stakecould be driven vertically and locked to the stake pocket trough bywedges. In accordance with my invention the stake pocket,

though its body is of bent U-shaped section, for

the sake of strength and stiffness'does not stand with the troughvertical, but with it inclined and partially inverted so that what wouldotherwise be a trough bottom is converted into an inclined cover, toprevent concrete from entering the pocket except at a hole provided forthe stake,

and which also serves as a n increased stiffening for the rail and aprotection of the pocket against misdirected blows ofthe hammer used instake driving. Wedges are provided to engage the stake, without clampingit to the trough of the pocket as in former practice, and therebytipping or warping the rail if the stakes were not all perpendicular.Further details and advantages of the invention will be brought out inthe course of the following description, and the novel features will bespecifically pointed out in the appended claims. A present preferredembodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawingin which,

r Fig. l is a plan view of a rail having the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view to enlarged scale along the line TIL-III ofFig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, a road rail ID of the usual designcomprises a horizontal leg or foot II, a vertical leg or wall I2, a topor head l3 on which wheeled mixing and finishing machines travel, and adown-turned flange M. The horizontal leg or foot ll of the rail I0 isprovided with a hole l5 adapted to receive a stake or pin Hi. The holeI5 is only sufiiciently greater in diameter than the stake to permit thelatter to pass readily therethrough with slight clearance. The effect ofthis relation between the diameter of the hole and that of the stake isto anchor the rail against lateral shifting, as soon as the stake hasbeen started into the subgrade, regardless of whether or not the stakeas finally driven is precisely perpendicular to the sub-grade. 5

'A stake pocket I! comprises a member U- shaped in cross-section whichmay be convenientlyformed from metal plate of suitable thickness. Thepocket is preferably made in one piece, and comprises a top, or covermember l8, side members l9, top wings 20, and bottom wings 20',extending outwardly from the side members in vertical and horizontaldirections. The pocket is attached to the rail by rivets 2| through 20and I4, and through 20' and II. A stake hole 22 is 45 formed in the topN3 of the pocket I1, and is preferably given the form of a slot havingits major axis in line with the length of the top wall l8, to makeallowance for possible departures from the true perpendicular in thefinal position 50 of the stake, without tilting the Vertical leg or wall12 of the rail from its true vertical position.

Slots 23 and 24 are formed in both side walls ill of the pocket I! forthe reception of wedges 25 and 26. After the wedges have been disposed55 in their slots, links 21 are fastened thereon to prevent the wedgesfrom sliding out.

While the manner of using the invention will probably be apparent fromwhat has already been said, a brief review thereof follows:

The road rails are laid on the sub-grade end to end, in precisealinement. The Wedges 25 and 28 are then moved to their outermostpositions, viz., with the links 2! in engagement with the side walls ofthe pocket I1. The stakes l6 are then inserted through the slot 22 andthe hole 15 and then driven into the sub-grade. After the stake has beenstarted, assumedly in almost vertical position, its point may bedeflected by encountering a stone, or other obstruction in the soil. In.that event, unless the obstruction be very large or hard, the rail whichis already in proper position, and secured not only by its own weightand its coupling to adjoining rails, but also by other stakes, threebeing the usual number for a rail ten feet long, is not displaced, butmaintains the stake in position at the place where it passes through therail base The stake, therefore, being deflected at itspoint,sufliciently to pass the obstruction, is driven on downward on a slant,the rail remaining substantially undisturbed during the driving. Whenthe stake is driven far enough to bring its top to a proper elevationbelow the rail head, the wedges 25 and 26 are driven to engage the stakefirmly without tipping the rail, leaving it resting firmly on thesub-grade as originally placed. While there may be sub-grade conditionswhere the ground is so hard that some displacement of the rail occursduring stake driving, the invention does not contemplate taking careofthose conditions.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the constructiondisclosed herein possesses marked advantages over earlier stake pocketswhich either required great accuracy in the driving of the stakes, suchas often was impossible to attain in practice, or provided that the railbe adjustable laterally relative to the stake, and thus failed to insurethe stake being driven Vertically at the desired spot on the sub-grade.

In the construction of a concrete road there usually is some spillage ofconcrete, or mortar, over the road rails. This naturally accumulates onthe base i l, whence it is readily removed when the rails are taken upfor reuse. However, with other stake pockets, considerable difficulty issometimes encountered removing this mortar, after it has hardened, fromthe stake pockets, especially when they are open atthe topand extend allthe way down to the rail base. This difliculty is minimized in thepresent invention by providing the cover I! for the pocket and having itopen at the bottom, between the inclined edges of l9 and the anglebetween H and I2; and the removal of such material as may enter thepocket is facilitated by the opening 28, through which a stake or othertool may be inserted to loosen any mortar that may have hardened withinthe pocket. The pocket is also protected against accidental hammer blowsby disposition upper-most of the remainder of the pocket and inclinedrelative to the vertical leg or wall I 2. The possibility of securingthe pocket tightly to the stake Without tipping the form even though thestake is not precisely vertical, and without shifting the formlaterally, has already been referred to.

Although Ihave disclosed herein but a single preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be understood that changes in the preciseconstruction illustrated and described may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1 The combination of an L-shaped road rail and a stake pocket for theroad rail, said pocket comprising a member extending between the edgesof the rail, having sidewalls and a slopingtop wall, a stake holeintermediate the ends of said top wall, there being a stake hole in thehorizontalmember of the rail in vertical alignment with the stake holein saidmem-ber, said second-mentioned stake hole being smaller than thefirstmentioned stake hole, and slots in the side walls of the member indifferent horizontal planes and on opposite sides 01' the center line ofsaid holes for receiving two independent wedges, whereby the rail maybeanchored' against lateral movement when a stake is driven through saidholes and the wedges are tightened against said stake.

2. In combination, an L-shaped road rail, a stake pocket for the roadrail, said pocket com prising a member extending between the edges ofthe rail, having side wallsand a top wall, a stake hole intermediate theends of said top wall, there being a stake hole in the horizontal memberof the rail in vertical alignment With the stake hole in said pocketmember, and a stake passing through said holes, said first mentionedhole being sufli'ciently larger than said stake to permit the stake totilt therein, and the secondmentioned hole being of a size sufiicient topermit the stake to pass readily therethrough, but to anchor thehorizontal member against lateral shifting relatively to the stake, andslots in the side walls of the pocket member on opposite sides of thecenter line of said holes for receiving two independent wedges, wherebythe vertical member of the rail may beanchored to the stake de spitetilting'thereof.

EDWARD L.v HARRINGTON.

